Of course that you'll have to say it does sound good enough, it's your job after aLL and I can understand that. But the fact is that, even if it may sound "good enough", the CD version will definitedly sound better. A LP CAN'T fit 55 minutes of music without losing a significant ammount of sound quality when compared to the original source.

I just can't understand why anyone would buy a LP which sounds worse than the CD, honestly...
And why am I bitching about this in the first place? I do like the band, and wanted the LP, but now I'll have to pick up the CD because the LP version is certainly ruined...

Well you don't have to be an audio nerd to figure out that records with longer playing times will sound worse than the original recording or even the cds.

I don't think it's a binary distinction.

They've been doing this for over a half-century, and there isn't a huge revolt against it.

Further, they're not stretching the 45min normal length all that far, so it's not even clear we're talking about a loss of dynamic range that even exists on these recordings.

Again, look at the fundamental issue here, which is that the source recording is probably not great either.

Ok, I don't want to make a drama out of this, but the reason why practically every label out there split the albums lasting over 50 min of music into 2 lps is basically to keep intact the sound quality of the original recordings and take advantage of the benefits that the format can offer.
I'll tell you what: don't pay attention to me. When this album is released, just buy both formats, cd and lp. Listen to both and then I'm dead sure that after you listen to the cd, then you won't listen to the LP again because it will sound noticeably inferior.
This release reminds me of that Evocation demo comp. released during last year. The playing time is almost identical and there are 3 different recordings as well. So, Century Media released it as a 3 sided- 2 lps, one side for each recording. It also came with a free cd containing the same material. And guess what: you can listen to either the cd or the LP and both sound equally good.
In this case there will be a noticeable difference. It doesn't matter if the original recording is of good quality or not._________________Psicoterror'zine website,
Old interviews are online and the review section is regularly updated!
www.dark-hidden.com/psicoterror

I notice that LPs closing in on 60 mins length often have 'groove echo', where during the silence between tracks you can faintly hear the music from the adjoining previous groove. I avoid anything over 40 mins in general, CD is cool with me.

The fact is, if the label had made it 2LP there would be an equal number of people complaining it cost too much / was unnecessary / etc etc.

Ok, I don't want to make a drama out of this, but the reason why practically every label out there split the albums lasting over 50 min of music into 2 lps is basically to keep intact the sound quality of the original recordings and take advantage of the benefits that the format can offer.

Yes, but in this case, that's like recording AM radio onto a gold LP to play back on your McIntosh system through gold tipped cables to pro-audio speakers floating on gel paks. There will not be a noticeable improvement._________________DEATH METAL UNDERGROUND

I notice that LPs closing in on 60 mins length often have 'groove echo', where during the silence between tracks you can faintly hear the music from the adjoining previous groove. I avoid anything over 40 mins in general, CD is cool with me.

The fact is, if the label had made it 2LP there would be an equal number of people complaining it cost too much / was unnecessary / etc etc.

You're right about the lps closing on 60 min length, and the best example of this is the Nordland series. The sound of the cd version is much better.
I don't think there would be people complaining at all, as the difference in price between 1 lp and a double LP is just a couple of bucks. But that difference in money will save the label a lot of production costs._________________Psicoterror'zine website,
Old interviews are online and the review section is regularly updated!
www.dark-hidden.com/psicoterror

The answer is simple: LP+7" is very expensive in production. Actually more than a 2LP but then people would have complained about stretching a mere 55min on 2 vinyls and even though the audiophile listeners would have appreciated that the people looking for a decent sounding vinyl at a decent price would have been upset. We went for the latter which is the most reasonable solution for a compilation of demos. However, I'll be making sure for the next releases I'm handling to avoid that risk.

The problem with stretching to 2LPs is that then the temptation is to include inferior material in order to justify the longer play length. That's when labels dig out that early rehearsal the band did in a public toilet when drunk and half of it is out-of-key Venom covers._________________DEATH METAL UNDERGROUND

the difference in price between 1 lp and a double LP is just a couple of bucks.

Do you think this is going to go down as more vinyl pressing plants come online, since vinyl is the thriving part of the physical music sales industry?

I have no idea about how do the pressing plants handle their economy, but if there's more demand for vinyls, then the price should go down. That is what happened to the cds anyway...

Well, according to your logic, you say that if the original recording sounds bad, then it doesn't matter how bad the vinyl pressing is because the final release will sound bad anyway. I don't see the point of doing that and therefore ruining the sound even more.

The reason behind all this blabbering is, as the Century Media guy already said, just a matter of saving up production costs, which is something that I `just can't understand especially coming from a big label such as Century Media, which took the care to release that Treblinka boxset filled with lots of bad sounding material into 5 lps!
Besides, the Massacra comp. doesn't sound bad, with the exception of the "legion.." demo. I do have the Nearer from death original tape and it sounds very good._________________Psicoterror'zine website,
Old interviews are online and the review section is regularly updated!
www.dark-hidden.com/psicoterror

The answer is simple: LP+7" is very expensive in production. Actually more than a 2LP but then people would have complained about stretching a mere 55min on 2 vinyls and even though the audiophile listeners would have appreciated that the people looking for a decent sounding vinyl at a decent price would have been upset. We went for the latter which is the most reasonable solution for a compilation of demos. However, I'll be making sure for the next releases I'm handling to avoid that risk.

o.k. understand this. but back in the days "From Beyond" was released with a one sided 7"inch bonus..
it's defitively difficult nowadays (he,he)
back in 1994/5 or so you were even lucky to get some vinyl format (picture disc or whatever it doesn't really matter ) from cool underground stuff.........
good records must be heard to death 'till the background noises take over the command in music...... over all the years hand in hand with the own earthly existence..... going together to the grave

Century Media release compilation of demos by legendary French death metal band Massacra

Celebrating the influence of this foundational band, Century Media will on November 4 release Day of the Massacra, a compilation of the re-mastered “Nearer From Death”, “Final Holocaust” and “Legion Of Torture” demos. The sound is surprisingly good, considering that the raw material comes from tape and isn’t easy to work with, although “Legion of Torture” sounds raw enough that no amount of modern technology can save it.

Massacra picked up the mantle of Slayer and Morbid Angel and crafted phrasal riffs into complex constructions which breathed pure energy but yet managed to take your breath away with their vast inner contrasts.

I asked my workmates in the States and CMDistro.com will carry copies of this approx. later in November. The transp. red vinyl will only be available through the Euro shop as it is limited to only 100 copies which hopefully are quickly gone, hehe. Hope this info helps!